BAGUIO CITY – A multimedia exhibit showcasing how Baguio and its residents endured World War II and how the city gained its freedom from Japanese invaders will live-on, even among the youth.
“We see the importance of the World War II stories for the next generation, the stories we grew up in from our parents, (and) grandparents who witnessed the war. We were lucky that we were able to hear from them their actual stories, their lives, (and) how they lived. But as time passes, the eye witnesses will no longer be here to tell the same stories to the next generation and I am afraid that will happen,” said lawyer Samuel Gallardo, team leader of the “80 and still free” photo and multimedia exhibit at the SM City Baguio mall.
The exhibit was opened to the public on Monday, and will run until May 5, days after the celebration of Baguio liberation day on April 27.
During the war, Baguio was carpet-bombed, but this ended when Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita signed the surrender papers in Camp John Hay on Sept. 3, 1945, a day after he surrendered in Kiangan town, Ifugao province.
Gallardo, the assistant regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and who is passionate about military history and a hobbyist “remodeler”, said he thought about the upcoming 80th anniversary of the liberation of Baguio because he has yet to hear about extraordinary efforts to tell the story of the city in relation to the Second World War.
He said he was able to convince his family to fund the project, which, he said, “shows the remains of the war and how beautiful it is now because of the sacrifices of the peoples in the 1940s, during the war.”
“From February to April 1945 soldiers of the 37th Infantry walked via Naguilian road and Kennon Road. My father as a child shared these stories to us, this is our way of continuing the story because the stories die, we have nothing to say for the things we enjoy,” he added.
Photos featured at the exhibit carries a QR (quick response) code geo-tagging and pinpointing the exact location where the photo was taken and a little caption.
There are also scale model and artifacts from the war so people would know how things looked like to prove that the war-related events showcased during the exhibit really happened.
“As we retrace the landmarks, photography allows us to portray the spirit at that time, from the past to the vibrant city it is today. May these photographs give connection to the city we all love,” said SM City-Baguio assistant mall manager Jason Pena during the event.
B/Gen. Paulo Teodoro, Philippine Military Academy (PMA) assistant superintendent, during the event, said: “it is significant to keep these stories in mind forever, deepening the immersive experience, (and) chronicling the timeline since they allow us to understand better the complexity of conflict and the humanity.”